Questions 1–2: Read the following example paragraph (with each sentence numbered) and then answer the questions. (1) Although Aristotle was Plato’s student, the two philosophers had very different ideas of what made a person good. (2) For Plato, goodness was knowing the right thing to do in every situation. (3) If someone has the right knowledge, he or she will always do the right thing. (4) If someone does the wrong thing, it is because he or she doesn’t understand what “right” really is. (5) Plato died at age 80 in 348 BC. (6) His student, Aristotle, thought that being good was less about knowledge and more about action. (7) A person with a good character will perform good actions. (8) To develop good character, a person should live moderately.

Which sentence is the topic sentence of the paragraph?
Which sentence is irrelevant to the paragraph?
What structural order does the paragraph use?
Questions 4–8: Indicate the type of order that would be most effective— spatial order, chronological order, order of importance, or comparison and contrast—to develop a paragraph on each of the following topics.

My Summer Vacation
How to House-Train Your Dog
The Pros and Cons of Home Ownership
The Well-Organized Office
Project Feasibility Report
Questions 9–11: Answer the following questions.

Define the topic sentence, including its primary purpose.
Some paragraphs build up to a main idea, so the topic sentence is at the .
Words and phrases like in conclusion, additionally, however, and for example are words and phrases you can use to make one sentence flow smoothly into the next.

answers

1

5

Comparison and contrast

Chronological order

Chronological order

Comparison and contrast

Spatial order

Order of importance

A topic sentence is a statement of the main idea or point of a piece of writing. It tells the reader what the rest of the paragraph will be about.

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